By Ajay Pazhayattil, Principal Management Consultant, cGMPWorld; Sanjay Sharma, Vice President Formulations, Lupin Inc.; Amol Galande, Product Development Head, Lupin Inc.; and Marzena Ingram, Senior Consultant, Validant
Introduction
The geriatric segment is growing at a rapid pace and remains a significant part of populations. With the new innovations in gene therapy and personalized medicines, there is a risk of having limited small molecule formulation development activity catering to the aging segment. The United Nations (UN) World Populations Prospect estimates that one sixth of the world’s population will be above the age of 65 by 2050.1 Europe and North America are projected to have a quarter of their populations in the geriatric category. The money spent on medicine and its use is increasing quicker than ever before with a 24% increase in use between 2015 and 2020. Today almost 50% of the world’s geriatric population use more than one dose of a given medicine per day, which is a significant increase from past years. The emerging data indicates that the need for geriatric specific formulations are not just a need for developed nations, as 80% of the older population will be living in low-and-middle income countries by 2050. Each of the top 10 pharmaceutical markets have an increasing trend toward geriatric population despite current economic disparity.